From the Ashes
by AMMO121
Summary: Zombie AU. When a mission into the Dead Zone goes wrong, Wally thinks this might be the end for him. But, what Wally doesn't know, is that sometimes, the end is just the beginning.
1. From the Ashes and Into the Dead Zone

**.:From the Ashes:.**

It felt like a life time ever since I, Wally West, had a normal day. The hellhole I was trapped in was never-ending, and I had to keep quick on my feet to survive. I missed my old life, and everything that had been a part of it. All the little things, like sleeping in his own bed to morning jogs, I had taken for granted, and now that they were gone, I felt empty.

Hell, I even missed my parents.

But, just because it's felt like there's nothing left, I won't stop living, because the way I saw it; what's the point of living if you're not making the best out of what you got? Sure, the world was pretty much a nightmare come to life, but at least I had people I cared about.

So what if I didn't have my old bed? I got to share a room with my best friend! (Which mean a lot of Saturday movie nights.)

I definitely got more exercise running from zombies than a three mile jog could ever give him. It was never a bore, something I thought was pretty fun. Definite adrenaline rush, all the time. Win-win, guys.

I tended to have a positive outlook.

Call me heartless, but my parent's death didn't have the biggest effect on me. I loved my parents, I really did. We had our spats, more often when I had started high school, and my dad (the freaking jock) didn't know how to handle a kid that would rather stay inside with a chemistry kit instead of playing football. Why can't you just be normal, Wallace?

To be truthful, I was never normal. I was too good at science and too, well, me to be normal, even before the world went to hell. (I'm around to many superheros to even come close to normal.)

I was happy, even if my cardio consisted of bashing in heads. All of my closest friends and family were all healthy and as happy as you get at a time like this.

And that's all that really mattered to him.

Dick and I were assigned to take Gar, Tim, and Bart out to check on the outer northwest of our Safe Zone after getting a report of some odd noises. We had to take Gar with us to show him the ropes, much to Meg's displeasure; Tim and Bart had only tagged along because "It sounded fun."

Well, Dick was supposed to be helping me. That was until Dick talked me into taking them myself so that he could help Barbara move and set up some computer stuff that they found on one of the scavenges to the Dead Zone a few days back.

Or as I decoded it as 'we're going to dance around each other and hope for the best.' time. Alright, I respected that. There was way too much sexual tension between those two; the sooner they made out, the better.

The report in itself was weird seeing as no one really came out her. Sure, there were armed guards at the perimeter, but it was really far from the houses. So, it was really was more of a "why would you even want to?" type thing. That, and the Green Line.

This spot was in a little corner past one of our three farms, and the Green Line ended at the farm perimeter. The Green Line wasn't an enforced thing, it was more of a suggestion. It boxed the parts of the Safe Zone where guards could always see and protect you. It's not that the Safe Zone isn't safe – after all it is called that for a reason – it just that when you past the Green Line you're going into Abandoned Land.

For good reason, people tended to feel safer when there were people with big guns (or meta powers) taking down the bad things so that you don't have to. That, and it's not unheard of for a Zomb to sneak through the fence that surrounded the Safe Zone, it wasn't very new.

We had good reason for being here, but bringing the kids with us made me uncomfortable. I knew that they would be able to handle themselves (a Bat, and Speedster, and a half-Martian, c'mon.), but that didn't help with my anxiety. I kept having flashes of them getting bitten or dragged through the fence or-

Okay, no. Not doing this.

I really hadn't wanted to go on this trip, I had seen enough of the smoky husk that was beyond the farm. And on a bad day, the zombies moaning, scratching, biting, and just trying to get through the fence. With their gray-green skin, pot-marked faces, and hunks of bloody, missing holes in their bodies, it was enough to give even the strongest nightmares.

But then again, Dick promised me that he would buy me a whole three gallons of ice-cream of my choice at the Ice-cream shop that an old couple set up about a year back; and I was sold. Some would say I'm too easy, I would tell them that they have never had ice cream as good as you could get at Iva's. And, food had always been my weakness, and Dick knew it.

I adjusted my Heart Monitor, an old habit of mine. The Heart Monitor was a vest-like thing that Batman had made. He took old bullet proof vests and added a small device into it that would sense your vitals and send them to a large computer in HQ. This way, it would register a pick up or even a complete stop of your heart. If the later were happen, then you were written off as BIA - Bitten In Action.

It was mostly used to tell if someone was turned or just taken by some bandits that were feeling a little daring and came closer to Justice City. They usually stayed away from the city filled with some of the most powerful people on earth, though. Pretty smart move if you ask me.

"Come on Wally!" The happy voice of my younger cousin called to me from a little farther in the maze of corn we were walking through. He was dragging a dizzy looking Tim along with him as he ran in dizzying circles at speeds not made for normal humans.

I can't believe there was ever a time when I didn't like Bart. Though, now that I think about it, I was mostly just jealous that he was born with speed. It was a little petty, but I had felt threatened. It had seemed like he was trying to steal Uncle Barry and push me out of the way. I had felt angry, too. Bart had gotten a free ride to his powers, being born with them, while I had to nearly kill myself. And it still didn't work.

I shook my head free of the sour thought and let out a little laugh, it all worked out in the end, and Bart and I were closer than ever. He was more of a brother than a cousin, now. It helped that we could complain about Uncle Barry's extreme over-protectiveness to each other.

In the beginning, Uncle Barry was skeptical about letting me meet his fellow heroes or their partners, something about getting me into trouble with the Joker; or something like that. But at the age of ten I had met the – at that time – Boy Wonder! He quickly became my best friend, even if he had overprotective issues almost as bad as Barry. Though that decreased slightly when he witnessed me kick a Red Lantern in the shin after they had kidnapped us both for one reason or another. He had even told me – after he finished cackling – that I had guts for someone that had no training except one or two lessons from Batman.

Tim looked as though he was going to puke as Bart pulled him over to an old faded red pickup truck. I raised a brow at my relative's excited chatter, at he talked about how the truck looked exactly like one he saw in a movie. I shook my head with a sigh and a fond smile, finally taking pity on my best friends little brother, it was obvious that Dick wasn't going to help.

"Bart, slow down a little, you're going to make him blow chunks," My smile widened slightly as this caused him to stop mid-word and turn slowly to his green faced friend. Bart let out a nerves laugh when he got a glare in response and scratched the back of his head with a sheepish look on his face.

"Sorry." He mumbled then turned his best puppy dog face on and aimed it at the dark haired boy. Tim rolled his eyes and tried not to look at the large sad eyes.

'Ha, good luck with that.' I thought. If there was one signature about my family, it was our extremely effective puppy dog eyes. The only people to ever be uneffected by them was Aunt Iris and Bruce, which really isn't that surprising when you think about it. I can't tell you how many times I used them on Roy and Dick to get them to buy me food.

Tim turned away a little more, a stubborn look on his face.

Bart leaned in a little closer.

Tim sneaked a peek, and that's all it took.

He crumbled. I stifled giggles at the horrified expression on Tim's face.

With a frustrated groan the dark-haired boy threw his hands in the air and grumbled something along the lines of 'Damn Allen's'. Bart smiled when it became obvious that he had the game that they had been playing. I let out a short laugh at that, and was only slightly surprised when another voice started laughing along with me.

I turned to my left and lifted an eyebrow at the fact that Gar was hanging upside down from a fire escape. He turned to look at me and smiled then held out something in his right hand looking exactly like a dog that just brought home a dead animal. I looked down at the object and recognized it as a 3DS.

Okay, I see where this is going.

"Can I keep it Wally? Please?" He shifted and looked like he was going to fall on his head, I made a half-aborted attempt to catch him.

"Sure, but don't tell your sis," I could just imagine the look she would give me for letting him get something that could 'Rot his brain'. Her words not mine. "Here, give it to me so that you don't lose it." I offered and took took the little video game from the happy boy. I opened opened the flap in my bag and placed it inside. I turned to say something to the younger red head but I was cut off.

"Wallyyyyy! Come have a look at this!" Bart's uneasy voice cut in before a word could leave my mouth. I turned to see him waving me over from the rusty fence. I nodded at him, gestured for Garfield to follow me, and started to walk over. Gar flipped off the fire escape and landed on his feet next to me. Together, we jogged over to my cousin and when we turned the corned into the smaller ally, I understood what had him so jumpy.

Tim was kneeling next to a hole in the twelve foot fence that was about six feet tall and three feet wide.

I was on guard instantly.

I waved for Tim to step away from the fence and stand behind me. I reached into my bag and took out my extra Sig and handed it to Tim, who was being trained by Dick to shoot a gun. Dick is seconded best only to his dad at shooting. Not that the great Dark Knight ever touched a gun if he could help it. Tim took the gun without a word.

"You guys stay here, you're not trained to work in the Dead Zone just yet. Make sure you watch each other's back and fronts, something had to have made this hole and it might still be close by." I said in a hushed voice. I took a deep breath and stepped out of Safety and into Death.

* * *

The Dead Zone is disgusting, let me tell you that.

There's trash everywhere, and the ground is dry, hard, and, for some reason, smoky.

You can also find decaying bodies in alley ways or right on the freaking street. They're usually dead-dead, not even undead. Maybe they had been killed during one of our own scavengings, or one of their own kind had gotten too hungry and attacked it. Either way, they wouldn't jump up and try to kill you, usually. Me being stupid, I had assumed it was completely dead without even making sure.

I don't know what compelled me to walk up to it, really.

Maybe it had just been cockiness, but I'm not sure.

It might have been that it looked a lot like my Aunt Carol. From the back, at least. Uncle Hal had been devastated when he had lost her. Ferris Aircrafts had been overrun a few months back, and it had been a hiding spot for quite a few civilians. As well as three Green Lanterns of Earth and a Star Sapphire.

Hal had lost track of Carol in the confusion, and John had to pull the him from the building so he wouldn't get infected. They had been the only survivors, not even Guy Gardener escaped.

They had been beating themselves up because of it for weeks, and I just had to see. Just to know, it would help.

* * *

It was Aunt Carol.

And Aunt Carol wasn't dead.

As soon as I stepped close enough, her hand shot out and latched onto my ankle. It was like a steel clamp, and her jagged nails dug into my skin. Her face was bloody, and her eyes were missing. I off-handedly noticed that her ring was gone; you can't really love when you have to brain complicity of a rabid squirrel. I hissed in pain, and stumbled back.

I fumbled for gun, a rookie move, but I was freaking out.

Aunt Carol bit down on my ankle and tore out a chunk of flesh.

I screamed.

* * *

I was limping, taking turn after turn without really noticing where I was going. I stopped short of the hole in the fence by about ten feet and stared in to the concerned and relieved faces of the younger boys.

They had obviously heard my scream.

I made eye contact with all of three of them in turn then slowly brought my eyes to my bloodied ankle. I could see the terrified realization and horror settle onto their faces. They knew what had happened. Even the most sheltered child had seen it happen at least once, and these three were definitely not the most sheltered.

They knew I was a goner.

I hadn't been fast enough. (How ironic.)

Tim's face was steeled, emotionless. I almost laughed, what a Bat. Gar was outright sobbing, letting out loud hiccups.

Bart. I looked at my little cousin, and gave him what I hoped to be a reassuring smile. I'll be okay. I wanted to say, but the lump in my throat stopped me.

With a sad smile and an airy laugh I brought my arm up; gun firmly in my grasp even as I shook like a leaf.

Bart was standing next to Tim and Gar again, and two older boys shielding the young shapeshifter from the sight.

"Goodbye,"

The shot echoed for miles.

**.:From the Ashes and Into the Dead Zone:.**

**The End... of Chapter one.**

* * *

A/N: This story Kicks. My. Ass. Wally does not have his powers. Yet.

Wally is 16.

Dick is 17.

Roy is 19.

Everyone else is the same.

**AMMO: I have a great beta who turned the pile of glup I was going to pass as a story into this! Thank her please. Oh and I'll update soon if I get a good feed back. I was hoping to write the whole thing before I posted but I had to post this!**

MorbidCheese: Hey! Thanks for the zombie fic for me to Beta! I'm having so much fun! I hope you don't mind the Carol Ferris, and the Green Lanterns drop! They're my babies! Ugh, dude. I have headcanons for this. [I'm also sorry for giving Wally his powers back... :/ It just felt better] Is Bart Barry and Iris' actual son instead of grandson in this?

1) The zombie apocalypse started because of LexCorp.

2) The reasons the Lanterns can't leave Earth for help from the Corps is because there's this layer of yellow chemical's that are in the outer atmosphere. The League is looking for a way to breach it, but they've had no luck so far. the chemical are too toxic are corrosive for anyone else to try, and the Lanterns are kind of their only hope.

**AMMO: No Bart is not but they treat him as thier son, so kind of.**


	2. From the Ashes and Into Your Tears

**AMMO121**:** *Smirk* I know you all want to kill me for leaving it off like that at the last chapter and I am not sorry. This Chapter will be from Dick POV and it will be short. Just a warning. Oh, and I'm going to try and write this whole story up before I start posting so y'all won't have to worry about it not being finished!**

In this story Young Justice is made up of all the same people except Superboy, But don't worry he will be in this story just not in the same way as before. Take from that what you will.

MorbidCheese: Why do you hurt me so, AMMO? Stop it. Oh, and is this set up before the end of the last chapter? I feel like it is, this must have happened after he got bit...but before he got to the boys...

I also edited this to the tune of Zombiepus by Weebl. It was inspirational.

* * *

**.:From The Ashes and Into Your Tears:.**

Dick Grayson-Wayne felt a shiver run down his spine, and a buzzing static (that sounded a helluva lot like a scream) rang in his ears. Something was wrong, very wrong. It almost felt as if it came over the mind-link. M'gann had kept a mind-link open at all times for the original Team members. But he didn't remember His heart jumped to his throat.

Wally, Tim, Bart, and Gar were in the Dead Zone.

Oh god, no.

He wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to them. He had declined the obvious order to go with them! But instead he had opted out and freaking bribed Wally to go with the three boys; all because he had wanted some alone time with Babs.

God, was he really that horny?

"-ick, Dick!" Barbara's voice cut through his train of thought like a knife though butter. The oldest Batkid turned to her and opened his mouth to explain but she cut him off. "They're in trouble, aren't they?"

"I...I don't know...I mean, I have this feeling, but I don't know for sure and I could just be paranoid and-" Barbara cut off his babbling with a peck on the lips. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was cheering, because fucking finally! But the situation was too tense to even consider celebrating.

"You're hunches've always been right, Boy Wonder." She said softly. "Go. Better safe than sorry."

Dick smiled at the girl of his dreams and gave her another, quick kiss.

Dick moved swiftly to the tent that he had set up to house his computers, and was not surprised when the rest of the Team, minus Wally was already there. Dick felt his heart sputter to a stop. If the rest of the Team was here, then it was undoubtably Wally's scream that had come over the mind-link. He nodded at the stoic group. (Weird, but given the circumstance, not unexpected.)

"You guys hear it too?" Dick asked.

Kaldur nodded, face blank, but eyes telling the whole story: the was scared out of his mind. Artemis was seething, her teeth clenched and arms crossed tightly. M'gann looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"I-I heard a scream...o-over our mental link," M'gann said in a whisper, wrapping her arms around herself. "A-and fear...a lot of fear...p-pain, too."

Artemis wrapped an arm around the martian girl's shoulders, glaring at Dick. But he was pretty sure the venomous look wasn't for him. "Where the hell is Baywatch?" The archer demanded. "He should be back from that mission by now. You are!" Dick flinched minusculely.

"I would like to know also, Nightwing." Kaldur said calmly, his voice acting like a cooling balm on Artemis' raging temper.

"...I didn't go with them," Dick said softly, not meeting any of their eyes.

"What?!" Artemis yelled.

"Explain." Kaldur demanded.

"W-why?" M'gann asked, tears finally slipping down her cheeks. "I-I...The only reason I let Gar go out there is because I thought...I though I had two of my friends watching out for him!"

Dick flinched. "I'm sorry, M'gann..."

"What the fuck were you doing that was oh-so important?" Artemis demanded, actually glaring at him now.

"I...I was with Babs,"

"You left your best friend to hang out with your girlfriend?!"

"It is not important right now," Kaldur cut in, saving Dick from digging himself a bigger hole. Their leader looked at Dick, disappointment flashing in his eyes. "Pull up the map, Nightwing."

Dick nodded and sat down in front of the main computer; typing in a few commands before an outline of Justice City showed up on the screen. The large city, that was once Central City, was shaded a light blue while it was surrounded by a rich green, with an outermost area that was gray.

Of course, the Green meaning the Safe Zone, and Gray meaning the Dead Zone.

A few more key strokes, and the guards popped up on the screen in the forms of red dots. The red dots surrounded the city, there were a few moving both in the city and Safety Zone, but one caught his attention.

There was a lone dot only about a mile into the dead zone, and not moving. Dick sucked in a sharp breath. Was it one of them?

He was about to type in another command when his communicator started to play 'I'm Sexy and I Know It.' at an obnoxiously loud volume. His eye twitched in both irritation and relief.

Dick debated not answering it on principal alone but changed his mind at the last second. He brought the phone up to his ear and hit answer without looking at the caller ID, there was no need.

"Wally what part of 'If you mess with my phone again I'll fill your bed worms' did not get through that thick red head of yours?"

Silence hit him like a Mac truck.

"Wally?" He said in slight concern. Dick never got the first word in over a phone call with the speedster, it was principle. Wally would have fired back a sarcastic response or a whiny "Aww, come one, man!" by now, too.

Hell, he never got the first word period. Dick looked up from the screen to make eye-contact with Kaldur, and saw his face contorted in worry. He must've noticed the oddity also. Artemis and M'gann were looking at us in confusion.

"Wally? You there, bro?" Dick asked again, dreading the answer.

"I've been bitten."

And at those three words, said from a voice which was usually filled with laughter and happiness; Dick Grayson-Wayne's world collapsed around him.

* * *

MorbidCheese: Ugh, you guys have no idea how fun this is to beta.

**AMMO: About as much fun as I did writing it. *Does the chacha dance***


	3. From the Ashes and Into You last Breath

The bullet made contact with it's target even with my arm shaking as it was, and when it did the chain that was holding up the hundred pound sign that once said something along the lines of 'Charlo Bar and Grill.' snapped like a rubber band. The sign fell strait down onto the metal awning with an ear splitting bang. Then, because of the angle of the awning, it slid slightly and tilted forward.

I watched in horrid fascination, and I could tell the boys were too surprised to do anything.

It landed with a thundering crack and a protesting groan right in front of the hole in the fence.

Right between them and me.

I brought my hand down slowly and let the gun slip from my numb fingers, where it landed on the ground with a hollow thud. I was surprised I could hear the dull sound over the screams and protests of Tim, Gar, and Bart.

I wondered, absently, if this is what quicksand felt like.

To feel your heart grow heavy and drop to the pit of your stomach, like a weight had been bound around it. I felt like the world was lying on my shoulders, the burden of my fate crushing me.

It was getting harder and harder to breath as the first tear trailed down my cheek. Being short of breath was one of the early symptoms of the infection, and I knew it all to well. I was dying, and there was no changing that.

I didn't want Bart to watch me change. Hell, I didn't want any of my friends to see it. I would become a mindless monster, only driven by my crave for flesh.

What if I hurt one of them?

I didn't want to think about what would would happen if I did.

This was the only way to protect all of them, and I wanted nothing more than that.

I heaved a shuddering breath, turned around, and walked away from the pleas of my baby cousin.

* * *

As I limped through the husk of the Dead Zone, I found myself thinking. I sometimes thought of what would have happen if the experiment really worked.

Like, being faster. As fast as my Uncle Barry and Bart.

The thought haunted me, even before it was one of the only things to think about. Would I be of more use to the people around me? Would I have been able to save more people? Because, I knew there were people I hadn't been able to save; simply for not being fast enough. But, after a while, I realized that these questions would never make anything better. It wouldn't help me or anyone, really, to dwell on the 'what ifs'.

After all, I am supposed to be the happy one. So what if it didn't work? I _might _feel a strong pang in my chest every time I see a speedster use his powers; them being so fast didn't mean I was so bad for being so slow.

I still have some of the greatest friends and family in the world

I'm perfectly happy that way, really.

* * *

I had been walking for just under an hour when the first jolt of pain hit me. It felt like my insides were being eroded, my stomach churning, muscles burning, everything _hurting._

I was shaking, my muscles were spasming and a new wave of horrible burning shooting through me everytime.

I collapsed onto my hands and knees. My breath coming out in short pants. Tears sprung up in my eyes, and the sobs only aggravated my hurting body more. I coughed, and blood splattered onto the dry ground.

I stared at the crimson puddle in horror for a moment, completely overwhelmed. I was not whelmed right now, not whelmed at all.

Fresh tears dripped from my face and merged with the blood.

I had never experienced pain like this before. Not _ever_. Even in all my years as a hero.

I had never seen this happen to anyone as they transformed, never heard of it, either. This was completely new, unsettling, and insanely painful. It was like my body was trying to fight the infection, but failing. Another tremor wracked my body, and my muscles convulsed. I fell face-first into the puddle of blood and tears.

I pushed myself up unsteadily, my arms shaking from my weight.

I had only been in close this pain one time.

When I had been struck by lightning.

* * *

_**MorbidCheese:**__ Hey. Hey. HEY. Yeah, you. You freaking baby. You rock. I enjoy this chapter because Wally doesn't die. It makes me happy. All I need is some Uncle Barry angst in the next one, and I'll be finished. *dreamy sigh* Zombie AUs are the best AUs. Let me tell you, reading __"Breaking Speed" by Adoglover5__ While editing this was not a good idea. Lots of angst that fuels me and AMMO, here. (Especially the seventh chapter guys. Go read it. NOW.)_

_Oh! And I can't wait for the next part because that's when __**THEY **__come in! It's going to be so great. Btw, this is shorter than the last two chapters, but not to worry! More will come!_

**_Ammo121: If I get off my lazy ass that is. And she lies, 'they' come in the chapter after the next one! *Sigh* I know, but I hope the Flash feels will make up for it in the next chapter!_**

**_Question: Would you rather I post the next chapter in a few days or wait for me to finish the fifith one?_**

**_Second question: Should I make this Yaoi or should it stay Gen? _**

**_Telheme what you think! Thanks for reading!_**


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